Thompson Springs | Utah

Antelope!  They seem to wander around near the train tracks in this little community.  They were a little shy, but they did pose long enough for me to get this shot.

This hotel has seen it's best days, although when I was there taking this photo, two men were peeking in the windows at the mess inside.  They told me they were thinking of making it a little hotel again for tourists.  I hope they love lots of hard work!

Considering the age of this car, it doesn't look all that bad......    This was right outside the RV Park I stayed at. 

This one didn't fare so well......  But it's older!

Schoolhouse built in 1907, nicely refurbished.

There are multiple abandoned and derelict buildings here.

Spooky on an overcast day.

I have no idea if it's true, but someone said this is the café that was in the movie "Thelma and Louise".  Looks way more interesting inside than outside!

Other buildings are just shells.

I'm not really fond of the purple color here.......

One of the residents has yard that looks more like a mini-museum - he had everything back here.

 

Mountains look like they are melting into plains here.  

Rocks are multicolored here.  I think I remember someone telling me that the green rocks have copper in them.

A restaurant, show place was nearby, but unfortunately it was all closed up and looking abandoned.

The weather did this a few days while I was here, but only got a few sprinkles one day.

This is the third Boot Hill that I've seen.  I don't think this one has anyone really there. 

Red rock is everywhere near Moab, and it is stunning.

Negro Bill Canyon Trail, near Moab, Utah

 

Before I got to Moab, a friend told me that I had to hike this trail.  The sign says it's 4 miles round trip, but plan on 4 hours.  I knew then that it's not an "easy" hike like the sign said.  I got up early one morning and got on the trail at 7 AM.  Luckily it was cool and most of the trail was shaded.  Unluckily, it had rained the day before and the trail had wet bushes that infringed on the walkway, so I kept brushing the leftover raindrops onto me as I meandered through the winding trail.  The trail (the easy part!) is shown below, but it doesn't show the poison ivy that was in a couple spots.  It's been long enough that I can say I successfully avoided those patches!

 

 

The small stream that went along the trail had to be crossed at least 6 times during the course of the trail.  The first time was easy, no wet feet.  After that, I got my feet multiple times both ways.  Some of the rocks in the river were slimy and slippery, so that didn't help.  I had to wash out my hiking boots when I got home!

 

 

The photo below shows a small sign in the corner - trail is that way.  Trail?  It's all rock about waist high!  After I check out the situation, I decided I could make it up - very carefully.  I put my camera and water bottle on the ledge and hoisted myself up. 

 

 

A short time up the trail, the reward is the Morning Glory Bridge off in the distance.

 

 

My hiking stick was definitely helpful on this trip - it's great for balancing on those rocks going across the water.

 

 

 

Rocks!

Since Moab is known for rocks, I had to visit the local rock shop. It's a really cool place with petrified wood (sometimes polished shiny), fossils and rocks both polished and not. Since mining goes with rocks, there was some old mining equipment in the front. Inside, they had relics from the mining days, old lanterns and tools.

 

This clear substance is more of a crystal than rock. Actually, lots of crystals and agates are prettier than some rocks.

This stone actually has little things growing in it, making it look like little branches of matter.

 

Below is a specimen of sandstone, one of my favorite rocks. It comes in many shades, all within one rock.



This is another great example of sandstone - this was a small piece, about 3 x 6", but gorgeous.  They call this picturestone. 

This is a great piece of semi-polished petrified wood.

 

This is a piece of rock that has a fossil of a fish in it.



As you can see, buying these special rocks can get expensive. So, all I did was look, and take some photos to share.

More rocks.....

 

 

 

Return to Moab

After a visit to Capitol Reef National Park and a short stopover in a little town off Interstate 70, I came back to Moab to relax before heading to Albuquerque, New Mexico to meet up with a few other solo women RVers and to see the Balloon Fiesta. That should be a fun get together and a colorful display of balloons rising slowly in the early morning.

Moab had been having a music festival here the past week, and I wanted to miss those crowds. Also, I knew there wouldn't be any reasonably priced place to stay during that time. So, after I knew it was all over, I drove down one overcast, drippy morning. My first choice for camping was the BLM camp I stayed at last time - Goose Island. When I drove up, it looked pretty well inhabited, so I was extremely happy to find a spot that backed up to the river and I'd have the huge rock wall across the river as my view.

I find it extremely interesting that these spots all seem to be pretty much level. Both of the ones I've been in were totally level, all the way around - and it's just gravel and sand. I've been in paved RV Parks where sites are so off level, you need to drive up on blocks just to feel comfortable inside. Nothing makes me more irritated than to pay sometimes over $30 for one night and have to do all that extra work to get it level. And some of the cheaper parks have very level sites - go figure. In contrast, most of the boondocking sites I've been at are almost perfectly level, or close enough. One more reason for boondocking!! RV Parks - pay attention!

Boondocking doesn't always mean free, although those are the best, but it always means no hookups.  On BLM land and in some of the National Forest land, there are fees if there are improvements such as dumpsters, fire rings, picnic tables, etc.  However, they usually are at minimal costs compared to commercial campgrounds.  Fees range anywhere from $5 to $20.

As I was sitting, staring at the rock wall yesterday evening, I took a couple shots of portions of the wall - small portions, considering the size of the entire wall. This area has an arch-shaped portion that has fallen down into the river.

 

Another shot shows a tiny alcove that plant life has been able to grow and receive enough rainwater to thrive.

At the top, it looks like there was a huge chunk that has fallen off, and other giant chunks that are cracked and may or may not fall off in the future.

The dark portions of rock is called desert varnish.  It's from the weather, rain, and deposits of iron and manganese.  It's usually where the pueblo people carved their petroglyphs. 

Canyonlands National Park - Island in the Sky

This part of Canyonlands is the northern part accessible from Moab, not connected by any roads to the southern part called "Needles" area. I much prefer this one, since it's fantastic scenery. And it's very diverse, since the road to the main part of the park was mostly rolling hills with greenery on them.

As the name implies, there are canyons everywhere, canyons right in the middle of a flat plains area.

There is also a crater, shown below. There are different theories of how this was created long ago, but nothing definitive.

As I was walking toward one of the overlooks, a man with a British accent commented to me, "I can't get it all in the camera." I have always felt the same way. Photos don't show how massive this area is, we're only taking one tiny slice of a landscape to put on a computer. There are more photos below, and I made a short video of the scenery here in this park, click this link to see it.... https://youtu.be/Y0_42c01isk